Posted 5/18/20
Monday has arrived and I am at least as excited to see it as I was to see frost warnings after I planted my tomatoes. Regardless, if life gives you lemons, make some lemonade. If life gives you kale, though, you are on your own. 😉 My attempt at Kaleade wasn’t sweet enough for most. Regardless, life is good and we plow on.
Today I want to shift gears and offer you a couple of quick thoughts on a WWI movie called 1917, directed, co-written, and produced by Sam Mendes. I realize this isn’t a movie review site, but my point will, hopefully, become obvious by the end. 🙂 Here is a trailer:
This was an absolutely amazing movie with a mind-blowing twist: It was designed to be filmed in one “take”. (It turned out to be two takes, with the semi-obvious switch when the character walks behind a wall.) The camera follows the primary character(s) from the beginning to end in a way that kind of blew my mind. The camera just kept on going…
This movie really got me to ponder my life, especially now with mom having dementia. In life, we get only one take. That is the way it was created. It is pretty obvious, stepping back and looking at our own lives, that it is so. So why do we waste so much time trying to change the past? There are no cuts, no outtakes, and no gag reels. I am not talking about those events in life that we can, by a new action, make things right with someone. I mean, asking for forgiveness makes sense and it is a very good thing. What I am referring to is my (perhaps our) subconscious need to change the unchangeable past.
I should have paid more attention to mom’s disease progression. She was diagnosed over a decade ago with “a mild form of dementia”, but I let it fall off my radar because I couldn’t see the change. I was just following the character, like in the movie, and didn’t have take the time to blink. Then, one day, there was a scene change. Mom had gotten worse, but it took a camera change to have me notice.
Why is this important? Better said, why is it important to know whether you or a loved one has dementia…or is getting worse? There are medicines that extend the relatively better early stage that I could have got mom on. I could have documented more stories, shared more pictures and laughs, and so much more…but the camera kept on rolling and I didn’t blink.
Of all of the articles I have penned here (nearing 500), this one is probably the most important for just the above reasons. Link I firmly believe the positives are much more important than the negatives when it comes to testing.
So, we start today and try to make the present and the future better, knowing the way things are. That’s all we can do and all that makes sense anyway. (OK, self…you convinced?)
#EndALZ
Update: We get to resume video chat schedules this week. 🙂 Last week it seemed like they were all having a good time, but I also hated not getting to at least check in. We are planning another window visit soon. Stay tuned. 🙂
Diet update: Gained .6 pounds. Still over 60 pounds lost. Busy week. I didn’t over eat, but I also got very little exercise. This week will be much better.
I have to watch this movie, Mark. I reread your first paragraph about why we waste time in our “one take” trying to change what we can’t in the past–several times. You have said something very important I need to hear in a way that made me hear. Thank you.
Thank you. I needed to hear it too…frequently. The Lord, however, doesn’t see us that way. Grace and the Atonement through His Son are truly amazing.